For I know their works and their thoughts; the time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and see My glory.
Latest Blog: January 22, 2008
I thought this was a VERY powerful way to look at a TIMELESS verse that we all know and love!
"For God..." The Greatest Initiator
"so loved..." The Greatest Compassion
"the world..." The Greatest Number
"that He gave..." The Greatest Act
"His only begotten Son..." The Greatest Gift
"that whosoever..." The Greatest Invitation
"believes[/trusts]..." The Greatest Simplicity
"in Him..." The Greatest Person
"shall not perish..." The Greatest Delivery
"but..." The Greatest Contrast
"has..." The Greatest Certainty
"everlasting life..." The Greatest Possession
My name is John... thanks for visiting my page! First and foremost, you should know I seek to please God. I haven't always chosen to follow Him, but as I chased after the things I THOUGHT I wanted, I came to realize that true happiness comes from a full relationship with God, so I've made my decision to seek after the things that please God, and I'm sticking too it...
I'm a former Marine; I go to Southwest Bible, and right now my main focus is working to pay off all of my debt so I can look more seriously at full-time ministry (whether it be as a missionary abroad, or getting on staff at a local Church). Anyway, that's where I was, where I am, and where I'm headed! Any questions??
"Amen!" We often say this word, either to agree with someone, or to close our prayers... but do we REALLY take this short four-letter word to heart??! For the purpose of establishment, I will define this word as we used it to close our prayers, since that is the subject of my expression here. Amen: “So be it; truly is a declaration of affirmation.” It comes from the Hebrew, and can be read as an acronym for ‘El melekh ne’eman’, meaning “God, trustworthy King”. Etymologically it is related to the Hebrew word ‘enuna’, which means “faith.”
Imagine that?! We have access to the most Holy God, the Creator of the universe, and we give thanks, we intercede for others, and petition on our own behalf before Him, all to end our conversation with God in declaration “FAITH!”, “God, trustworthy KING!” How many of us pray to God, without confidence that God will answer our prayers?
I don’t think many would admit it... I know that I wouldn’t have, until I was convicted by a sermon I heard recently, but I don't think that the majority of us actually come before the throne of God with confidence! I was convicted when I heard the following question posed: “How many of us pray, and ask God to do something, and then give Him an ‘out’, by saying ‘Oh, but Lord, let YOUR will be done!’? As if to say ‘Lord, this is what I want, but if you don’t deliver, that’s okay too, I just thought I’d ask politely and hope for the best!’”
Now, I realize, on the surface that what I’m saying sounds pretty blasphemous “to even think that we would NOT be okay with God telling us ‘No’, or that we should not speak to God with the utmost respect.” That’s not what I’m saying, so please keep that in mind.
The point I’m getting at, is a question of our confidence in bringing requests and petitions before the Lord. We certainly shouldn’t be arrogant enough think that God is somehow unable to accomplish His will AND answer our prayers. As to whether or not we are sure of our request, and whether or not it falls in line with God’s will, we should take the time to meditate upon it, shouldn’t we?! Ask Him what His will is, so that we can make confident requests before Him! Another thought I had when meditating upon this subject was "How many times do we use Matthew 18:19 and go to God in prayer?!" Jesus told us: “Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about ANYTHING you ask for, it will be done for you by My Father in heaven.” Come to think of it, what a POWERFUL tool that would be for a husband-wife prayer team??! To sit down together and discuss/meditate upon the things they'd like to pray about together, agree upon them, and then go to God in prayer?!! I can only imagine what that might do, not only for their relationships with God, but also with each other!
In closing, I’d just like to encourage each of us to meditate before prayer, to sit down and figure out how to pray according to God’s will, and on occasion to discuss with each other our prayers and bring it to God together, so that, when we end our prayers with the word “Amen!” we mean it! I'm confident that no one wants to be “simply using the word our parents use to close our prayers” or “saying what everyone else says to close a prayer”... we want to mean “We have given praise, made request and offering before You, Holy Father, and we have FAITH (that is confident assurance) You will answer!”
Heavenly Father, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Blessed be Your name among all nations for all time. Thank You for your goodness and kindness towards us, we praise Your glorious name. We thank You for the indescribably gift of salvation You've brought us through Your Son Jesus Christ, the judgment and shame He endured for our sake, and the eternal life which You have promised us for our faith in Him. Father, we thank You for showing us our need for Your grace, having been condemned by the Law, and giving us the good news of our Salvation, having inspired its writing and preserved it throughout the ages and brought each one of us Your message. We thank You for the freedom You've brought us, having established our nation as a place of freedom and given us that heritage. We pray for those whom You have placed in the service of protecting that freedom, asking that You would protect them as they serve; that Your hand of protection would be so evident to them, the hearts of those who do not know You would be softened to hearing Your Gospel message; and that You would raise up believe next to unbeliever, and give those believers the courage and conviction to share Your message with their unbelieving brothers in arms. We pray for our nation, that You would help our society, by enlarge, to see destruction that the ways and desires of men lead too; help the unbelievers to see the difference that YOUR ways make in the lives of believers, that is the inner peace and joy that WE have in the midst of trials and suffering; we pray these things that you may be glorified, and the lives of the believers of this nation would become a testimony to your goodness, and cause many to turn to You for salvation, guidance and direction for how to continue living their lives; and that You might preserve the freedom You have bestowed upon this nation, for generations to come for both Your sake, and our children's sake. We pray for the missionaries who rely upon You for their every need, we give thanks to You for Your faithfulness to them, and pray that You would continue to provide for and protect them as they faithfully serve You. We ask that You would keep them healthy, and refresh them anew with encouragement each day; that You would give them opportunities to share the Gospel, even in the most dangerous of mission fields, and that You would be glorified by the expanding of Your kingdom through their efforts. We pray that You would protect them from feelings of fear, worry, anxiety, doubt, lonliness, helplessness; but rather You would inspire them with confidence, assuredness of their mission, and the blessing of knowing that Your Word is not returning void. Heavenly Father, we know that You are the Creator, that the cattle on a thousand hills belongs to You, as do our finances, that nothing grows that has not been created or sustained by Your hand, and therefore there is nothing on our table which You have not given us. We thank You for Your grace provision of these things, as well as this place we have to gather today, and we humbly ask Your blessing upon the food we are about to partake, that it would nourish and strengthen our bodies. We ask that You would guard our hearts and minds during this time of fellowship, that we might glorify You by our thoughts and conversation this day. We pray all of these things in the name of the Christ, Jesus, who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy. For You, Heavenly Father, are pleased to have all Your fullness dwell in Him. Amen.
I was meditating on some things I'd heard on the "Thru the Bible" broadcast on my way into work this morning. I was taking notes from my meditation, I realized I could post a blog from the notes I took (although it hadn't been the intention). Mr. McGee was talking about the difference between "becoming separate UNTO" and "becoming separated FROM" things in life. I've never thought about the concept of separation as a gain, a positive, because we usually think of it as some kind of removal. Well of course there is a removal with ANY separation, but what does it mean to be separate UNTO something? Mr. McGee used the word "cleave" to describe separation pretty well. We can cleave to things/people, or we can cleave something into pieces.
My notes began with a simple phrase "Be separate UNTO Christ, not separate FROM the world." Being separate UNTO Christ will ultimately eliminate certain actions, thoughts, ideals, from you life by placing a value on what God wants for your life, rather than placing a value on what God does NOT want for your life. For example, a man separates himself UNTO his wife, because he desires her. This separation ultimately eliminates sex and intimacy with other women. It ultimately eliminates spending time with other women on dates, or going (alone) to places where single people go for the purpose of meeting singles. How does it eliminate these things in a different way than telling himself "Now that I'm married, I won't go doing those things"? Well, he desires to spend time with his wife, he desires to be intimate with her, he desires to fulfill her sexual needs, and that the intimacy and sex between them be special; by following these desires he naturally eliminates other activities, without the conscious choices of "this is what I'm giving up", rather because of his separation UNTO his wife he eliminates them by the conscious choice of "this is what I'm gaining".
The Christian lives his life in the same manner; he follows Christ and eliminates the deeds of the flesh and fights the desires of the flesh, leaving behind (rather than "running from" or "giving up") the sinful things of "the old self" as he moves toward "separation UNTO Christ." What a wonderful thought it is that we don't have to "give this, that, or the other thing 'up'," but that we end up doing so, as we follow Him faithfully and as we follow our desires to please God, doing "what is right in the sight of God." What meaning this gives to the battle between the spirit and the flesh, when we don't see ourselves as "giving things up," but as growing up and leaving them behind because our desires have changed. The apostle Paul put it "When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me" (1 Corinthians 13:11). As he says in the previous verse, this is because "when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears." Of course, we still "war with the flesh" every day, but this is not because we are seeking to "give something up," it is because we seek to gain something new! Sometimes this means "running from" the temptation to indulge in the desires of the "old self," but that is a defensive strategy, which purposes to please the Lord by moving toward Him and by extension "away from" something else.
I hope this reflection encourages you as it has me!
Christmas season is upon us. Lineups are long and parking lots are full. The race is on to find that perfect Christmas gift. It is the time of year when the attitude is you buy me a gift and I’ll buy you a gift, and heaven forbid if you spend less than me. It has become a real insult to people if big bucks are not spent.
With all this running around in search of the perfect gift the real meaning of Christmas has been lost.
Christmas is a time to celebrate God’s love.
When the time was right God sent forth His only son to be born of a virgin.
Christmas is a time for us to reflect on God’s love for us. Jesus was born in a stable not some four star hotel. Our King humbled Himself in order to redeem us back to our Father in heaven.
Christmas is not about finding that perfect gift. We already have the perfect gift. Jesus Christ, He saved us all. Salvation is a free gift to anyone who chooses to receive it and so the question remains ha
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